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Israeli-American creates shoes for all walks of life

These boots were made for walking. Ori Rosenbaum with his new shoes.They say if the shoe fits, then wear it. But Israeli-American shoe designer and serial entrepreneur Ori Rosenbaum believes that a good fit is not enough. He has boldly …

These boots were made for walking. Ori Rosenbaum with his new shoes.They say if the shoe fits, then wear it. But Israeli-American shoe designer and serial entrepreneur Ori Rosenbaum believes that a good fit is not enough. He has boldly created a new line of shoes for the Renaissance man who needs one shoe for all seasons – a shoe that works in the boardroom, while bouldering and even on the moon.

His California-based company Auri Footwear is yet to sell a pair of shoes, but Rosenbaum’s creations are already turning heads among the Hollywood elite.

The line today includes boots, sports fusion, sandals and dress shoes. With design coming from America, some innovation from Israel, the leather from Italy and tech materials from NASA – Auri shoes are not only perfect for all seasons on earth, but may work in outer space too.

“The reason I started this company is that I perceived a gigantic void in a gigantic industry – I couldn’t find shoes that I wanted to wear,” Rosenbaum tells ISRAEL21c.

A fan of car racing, Rosenbaum noticed how useful racing shoes were while on the track, but out on the street they were impossible to walk in. He reasoned that there must be a way for one shoe to fill multiple purposes – especially in today’s world, where a day-in-the-life of a modern man can be chocked full of multiple tasks.

“If I am going to wear cool jeans and a cool shirt, I don’t want to wear sneakers. I also don’t want to wear my high-end Italian shoes, because they are not comfortable,” he says.

Instead, Rosenbaum decided to make a hybrid shoe or a “fusion” shoe as he calls it. They are dress shoes with running shoe technology, boots that look good on the town but that can handle a technical hike, and sports footwear that would pass as shoes fit for clubbing.

He points out, “Girls will sit there and say, ‘these shoes I am wearing are so cute, but they’re killing me.’ Guys can’t pull that off.”

Take note guys, come June, Auri shoes will be available in exclusive boutiques across America in all major cities such as LA, Boston, Chicago and New York, says Rosenbaum originally from Ramat Gan, Israel.

Rosenbaum moved to the United States when he was five, and his parents keep homes in both the US and Tel Aviv and travel back and forth regularly.

It seems that Rosenbaum has retained a keen Israeli sense for networking: In order to get close to the influential Hollywood and music crowd, he hooked up with PR people who were able to insert a coupon for a free pair of Auri shoes into the Screen Actors Guild VIP goodie bags this year.

Rosenbaum reported being surprised when stars starting calling in their orders. But maintaining client confidentiality is important to him and he stays tight-lipped over who exactly is wearing his shoes on Rodeo Drive. Maybe it’s you?

About Karin Kloosterman

Karin Kloosterman is an award-winning environment news publisher who founded Green Prophet (www.greenprophet.com) to connect North Americans to issues that matter in the Middle East. She is the CEO of the Internet of Things startup flux, a company that is making social grow tools for urban farmers everywhere (www.fluxiot.com). Karin can be reached at karin (at) fluxiot.com.